When club motto is Food = Love, chefs become part of the family

It goes without saying that eating plays an important role at the eating clubs. But no club celebrates that more than Terrace, whose members sign their emails with the club motto FOOD = LOVE, Lots of FOOD, or ­simply, FOOD.

“Food is the reason people come to Terrace,” said Andrew Werner ’14, on his favorite dinner day, “Mexican ­Friday.”

So when the Terrace graduate board suddenly dismissed head chef Olin Noren and sous-chef Ben Arfa just before the winter break, the news was difficult for club members to swallow.

“[Olin and Ben] were our friends, not just our chefs,” said Terran Agnes Cho ’14. “What hurt the most was that, when the grad board fired them, it was like telling us that our friends couldn’t be here anymore.”

“I think at other clubs there’s more of a clandestine relationship between the chef and the students, but it’s much more interactive at Terrace,” said club president Dimitris Papaconstantinou ’13. “The food mirrors the adventurous character of the members.”

Club members delighted in remembering their favorite meal prepared by the former chefs. For Nicolas Apter-Vidler ’14, it was the chicken curry. Cho picked the tofu scramble ... and the waffles with fresh berries and cream ... and the tea (“We have so many teas!”).

Phil McNeal ’14’s most memorable meal was at Winter Formals: artichoke and duck pâté, rosemary-encrusted lamb skewers, and dirt cake made in the style of Barton Rouse, Terrace’s legendary chef of the 1980s and ’90s and creator of the Terrace motto.

In response to the sudden removal of the chef duo, club members formed a Facebook group, Terrans for Transparency, to air their frustrations with the process. The graduate board said that for legal reasons it was unable to provide a detailed explanation for its action, but promised more consultation with club officers in the future.

Meanwhile, the club’s new chef, Steve Krebs, seemed to get off to a promising start in the quest to win over the hearts and taste buds of club members. “Olin and Ben were known for their Mexican dishes,” said McNeal, and, fittingly, the menu for Krebs’ ­“Welcome to Terrace” meal in early January featured chicken burritos, vegan bean burritos, and guacamole tacos.

Said Papaconstantinou: “From what I can tell, Steve is a true Terran.”